I am presently forging ahead with a thesis on the cardinal
virtue of prudence in Geoffrey Chaucer's works. Part of my
research is in the sources and relations of the proverbial
material in <it>The Tale of Melibee</>. The <it>Melibee</> is a
close translation of <it>Le Livre de Mellibee et Prudence</> by
Renaud de Louens which is itself an adaptation of the <it>Liber
Consolationis et Consilii</> of Albertanus of Brescia. Most of
the proverbs and sentences of the <it>Melibee</> are derived from
Albertanus's book.
While I am perfectly content to believe that Albertanus may
have got his wealth of proverbs from <it>florilegia</> and the
like, I am also interested to know if anyone can point me to
material on Albertanus's reading, or his library, or any library
that he could have had access to.
Apologies to anyone who is forced to read this more than
once as it has been posted to REED-L, Humanist and ANSAXNET.
John Morris,
Graduate English,
University of Alberta,
Edmonton, CANADA.
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P.S. Even though I am a brand new member, my vote is for an automatic
list if it is the only alternative to closing up altogether.
